Monday, December 10, 2012

﻿
Dehradun, December 10The District Magistrate (DM) convened a meeting of officials of the district administration, PWD and Traffic Department today to discuss the survey report over the widening of crossings and T-points or roundabouts in the city. Besides this, the DM, BVRC Purushottam, has also directed the concerned officials to submit their report regarding clearance of encroachments from the city in the next 15 days. He asked the officials to earmark the places plagued by encroachments and the suggestions to clear them.

The city has been divided into four zones to conduct the survey in order to identify the bottlenecks in traffic around these crossings and the measures to remove them. The discussions took place only on first two zones today. Suggestions were made in each respective case where the action plan was prepared to undertake works in the first, second and third consecutive months. Suggestions were made such as shifting of electrical poles, transformers, police pickets, felling of trees, relocation of shops or acquisition of land, wherever they were felt required, in order to widen the area and facilitate smooth flow of traffic.

The areas which were discussed under first zone are Clock Tower to Chukhuwala, Binda Crossing to Kishan Nagar Crossing, Kolagarh Marg, Garhi Cantt crossing, Ballupur Crossing to Balliwala, Prem Nagar to Nanda ki Chowki, Bhaowala, Selaqui to Sahaspur and Harbertpur.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

In continuation of first part ……..Route 02 – On this route we can see following places :-Shiv Temple – Deer Park – MDDA Park – Sai temple – Tibet Temple –
Robbers cave
1. Shiva temple :- which is located about 20 km away from
Dehradun on the Mussoorie Road. It is a private temple where
you can not offer any donations. Initially, the temple was made for the personal
use , but later it was opened for public. In Prasad they offer Rajma- Rice,
Kadhi -Rice, Fried Rice. Tea is also served as Prasad.

Shiv Temple

Shiv Temple - Inside View

The main source of earning of temple is variety of precious
Gemstones, Pearls, Rudraksh etc sold in the temple premises.
2. Malsi Deer park :- Deer park is situated 10 km away from
Dehradun city on Mussoorie road. It is placed at the base of Shivalik range. The
park also houses a children park. The well maintained park is natural home to
two horned deer , tiger , Nelgai & peacock. Unfortunately we could not visit
Deer Park for the last so many years.
3. MDDA Park :- It is situated on Rajpur Road. It is
designed in the trend of Step Farming. The view from the park is mesmerizing. It
is advised to park the vehicle before you take the turn towards the park as
there is a narrow road on the way to park. (Gali).

MDDA Park - Designed in the trend of Step
Farming

Back side View from MDDA Park

4. Sai Temple :- The Sai temple is situated on Rajpur road
gives the secular feeling in its zenith.

Sai Temple

Sai Temple

Built with glittering marble stone, this marvelous shrine present an eye
spectacle to the visitors.

Sai Temple

5. Tibetan Temple :- Adjacent to the Sai Temple , there is a
Tibetan temple which is huge & colourful temple of Lord Buddha.

Tibetan Temple

Entrance - Tibetan Temple

6. Robbers cave :- It is one of my favorite places in
Dehradun. A magnificent spot that lies at the suburban area of Dehradun.

Robbers Cave

Robbers Cave

Robbers Cave

Robbers Cave

Robbers Cave

Localites call this place Guchhu Panni . It is bounded by
majestic hills.

Dehradun is the capital of Uttrakhand , it
is located at 230 kms from Delhi. Dehradun is surrounded by the Himalayas in the
north , Shivalik Hills in the south , the river Ganga in East & river Yamuna
in the west. How Dehradun name originated
“Dera” means “Camp” & “doon” means “valley”. According to the legend Guru
Ramrai , the seventh Guru of Sikh set up a dera (Camp) here ,
the place is very close to Dehradun Railway station. Some people relate it with
Guru Dhronacharaya also. A Brief History of Uttrakhand / Dehradun at a glance
• Uttrakhand was ruled by Kuninda Kingdom in around 200
BC.
• Later this region came under Katyuria’s.
• After
the end of Katyuria’s rule, the region was divided into Kumaon which was
ruled by Chand king & Garhwal by Panwar.
• In 1724 Hyderabad
Nizam established Kumaon Regiment.
• For about two decades till 1815 it was
under the Gorkhas.
• In 1815 Tehri Garhwal was
established.
• In 1816 Except Tehri Garhwal , Uttrakhand was declared as non
regulatory state & Tehri was handed over to King Sudarshan Shah.
• In
1857 Muncipal Corporation of Dehradun was formed.
• In 1859
King Sudarshan Shah died.
• The Forest research Institute
(FRI) was established in 1906 by the British.
• In 1919,
Narendra Shah shifted the capital from Tehri to a new town,
which was named after him, Narendra Nagar.
• In 1930
Dehradun Radio Station started functioning which was closed
during II World war.
• The IMA was established in 1932 by
the British only.
• Manvendra Shah was the last ruling King of
Garhwal Kingdom (1946–1948).Places to Visit
Route 01 – On this route one can cover the following places:-
1. Lacchi wala :– It is about 22 kms from Dehradun on
Haridwar /Rishikesh road. It comes under the forest reserve area , Forest rest
house is also available for the tourists. It is an ideal place for picnic,
especially in summers as one can enjoy the surroundings near the water body as
well as have a splash in pool or river.

Lachchhi Wala

2. Lakshman Siddh :- It is situated 12 kms away from
Dehradun City on Haridwar / Rishikesh Road. It is believed that Lakshman
had penance (Tapasiya) for killing the Ravana , hence this place is
known as Lakshman Siddh.

Lakshman Siddh

Lakshman Siddh Temple

Lakshman Siddh Temple

One can spend hours in the calmness of silence. The temple is surrounded by
forest.

Way to Lakshman Siddh Temple

There is Akhand Dhuni where ever day Hawan is performed. Two Rudraksh trees
are also there.

Lakshman Siddh - Akhand Dhuni

Lakshman Siddh - Akhand Dhuni

The main Prasad of the temple is Jaggery . In every last Sunday of April the
temple committee conducts a huge Bhandara.
3. Sahastradhara :- It means “thousand fold springs” an
ideal place for picnic. There are three caves known as Shiva Cave ,
Parvati Cave & Inderesh Cave opposite to Baldi river. The way to
Shiva’s cave is very slippery.

Sahastradhara - Shiva Cave (Inside View)

Sahastradhara - Parvati Cave

3. Sahastradhara - Indresh Cave

Way to Caves opp. Baldi river

It is also famous for Cold sulphure springs where visitor
take bath which helps in curing the skin infection. It contains Medicated /
Therapeutic properties.

Sahastradhara

It can be visited at any time but the best time to visit is during rainy
season when the streams appear of a gushing torrent.

Way to Sahastradhara

4. Tapovan :- There is a Dronacharya Ashram. According to
legend Dronacharya had done penance here. The ambience in and
around this holy place is so divine that it sooths all the sorrow.

Tapovan - Dronacharya Ashram

Tapovan - Dronacharya temple inside the
ashram

Tapovan

Tapovan

5. Kalinga war Memorial :- It is the only martyr memorial of
its kind in history where victorious army built the memorial on the bank of
river Rispana in memory of General GILASPY with other army men as well as Gorkha
General BALBHADRA THAPA their adversary to pay tribute to their courage
jointly.

Kalinga war Memorial

6. Kalinga Fort :- Kalinga fort was known as Nalapani fort
also. In 1814 the battle of Nalapani which took place between Gorkha Army &
British Army. In this battle women & childen joined hand in fighting along
with the Ghorkha Army against British Army. The British general GILASPY lost his
life on 31st oct. 1814 with fellow military men. The most of the fort part was
damaged during the war , gradually it was damaged. The only left over thing is a
broken Trishul. Now a new monument has been built by authorities.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Jalandhar/Chandigarh, November 18Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today hit back at his Delhi counterpart Sheila Dixit saying that she was deliberately delaying elections to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC).
Talking to newsmen at Khiala village near Jalandhar, Badal accused the Delhi Chief Minister of helping DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna whose defeat in the next DSGMC poll was inevitable.
He said that as it would have an impact on the Delhi Assembly elections, Sheila wanted to delay elections to the Sikh institution.
In a separate statement, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) took a strong note of the remarks of the Delhi Chief Minister asking her Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal to “keep off Delhi gurdwara affairs”.
The SAD described her reaction as irrational and indicative of the fact that Dixit was not aware of the history of the DSGMC.
The SAD said that it was strange that the Congress leader was asking the founding fathers of the DSGMC to become mute spectators to the denigration of the management committee responsible for the maintenance of historic Sikh shrines in the national capital.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “Will someone please go and tell her that Sikh affairs are very much a business of the Sikhs, and of the Sikhs alone, and that she or her government should stay away from the internal religious matters of the Sikh community.
“Let her instead use her position to ensure better law and order in Delhi. By openly talking about an issue which concerns our shrines, Dixit has only confirmed Parkash Singh Badal’s observation that the Congress government in Delhi is indeed interfering in the religious affairs of the Sikhs,” he said.
Party spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema reminded the Congress leader that it was in 1970 that the then SAD president Sant Fateh Singh led a ‘morcha’ in Delhi demanding a similar democratic body on the pattern of the SGPC for the management of Sikh shrines in Delhi.
“Parkash Singh Badal, all his senior colleagues and 16,000 other SAD leaders and workers went to jail in this morcha,” added Cheema.
“So the present DSGMC came into being in 1971 as a result of the sacrifices made by the Sant Fateh Singh, Parkash Singh Badal and other SAD workers,” he said.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Being the capital city of Uttaranchal, your Dehradun travel will enable you to explore all tourism possibility. Travel Dehradun, in order to explore the bounteous nature of the city.

About Dehradun
Nestled in the mountains of the Himalaya, Dehradun in one of the oldest cities of India. Also known as the abode of Drona (the mentor of Pandavas), Dehradun has always been an important centre of the Garhwal rulers which was captured by the British. The headuarters of many national institute like ONGC , Survey of India , I.I.P. etc. are located in the city. Dehradun has a string of premier educational institutes like the Forest Research Institute, Rashtriya Indian Military College and the India Military Academy. It is favoured tourist destination as it attracts tourists, piligrims and enthusiasts from various parts of India and world. Add to this the abundance of special Basmati rice, tea and leechi gardens which contribute in turning the city into a paradise.

Getting ThereAir : There is an airport called Jolly Grant Airport, which has direct flghts to Delhi, a major international airport of India.Rail : Dehradun is the terminus of the Northern Railway well connected to places like Amritsar, Howrah, Bombay, Delhi, Lucknow and Varanasi etc. A Delhi Dehradun Shatabdi Express has recently been introduced.Road : Dehradun is on the NH 45. The Himachal road transport, Delhi and Haryana road transport, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan state transport buses, ply regularly to Dehradun. Taxis, cars, coaches are available with private operators. Most of the buses start from the Gandhi Road Interstate Bus Terminus. It is also the Gateway city to the hilly regions of Mussoorie and beyond and is connected with them with good all weather roads.

Tourist AttractionsSahastra Dhara : Sahastra Dhara, literally meaning, the 'thousand fold spring' is situated at a distance of 11 Km from Dehradun. The place makes an ideal picnic spot and is of immense attraction to visitors. There is a sulphur spring in which visitors often take bath. Its water is said to cure skin infections and possess other medicinal properties.

Rajaji National Park : Rajaji National park is situated 20 Km from Dehradun and is one of the best national parks of Uttaranchal. The sanctuary is famous for its population of elephants, tigers and leopards. The park is perfect for the lovers of jungle safari, especially the elephant safari.

Tapovan : Five kms away is Tapovan, where the legendary Dronacharya, the great guru of the heroes of the Mahabharata, is believed to have performed years of intensive penance.

Tapkeshwar Mahadev : Tapkeshwar Mahadev, a cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva, is located 6 kms from the centre of the town, by the banks of a river. According to a tale from the Mahabharata, Shiva made milk flow from this cave for Asvathama, the son of guru Dronacharya

Mussoorie : Mussorie, often called as 'Queen of hill stations' is 38 Km from Dehradun. The uphill journey to Mussoorie from Dehradun can make anyone feel excited. The place is so beautiful, that it requires a full trip, rather than spending a couple of days. Mussoorie has been a favorite summer resort of Britishers and was developed heavily by them.

Accommodations
Dehradun offers some of best stay facilities in Uttaranchal. One can go for a luxury or economic stay option, depending on the budget. The restaurants here offer Indian, Chinese and Continental cuisine.

The foundation stone-laying ceremony of the cricket stadium and the sports complex at Raipur in Dehradun on Thursday.

﻿﻿CM lays foundations of ground and mega sports complex at Maharana Pratap Sports College complex at Raipur
Dehradun, November 15
With the laying of foundation stones of Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium and mega sports complex at Maharana Pratap Sports College complex at Raipur here today, Dehradun is all set to be on the international cricket map. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, speaking on the occasion, after laying the foundation stone, hoped that the stadium would bring Dehradun on the international cricket map and added that the shortage of money would not be a hurdle in the completion of the Rajiv Gandhi stadium and mega sports complex. He said adventure sports activities would also be encouraged and spoke about the inauguration of the Adventure Sports Academy at Tehri lake which is being set up at a cost of Rs.20 crore. He further said Uttarakhand had given many sportpersons to the country and his government would do everything to encourage and honour the deserving sportpersons. He said Unmukt Chand, Captain of the Indian Cricket (under-19) team would be given a cheque for Rs 11 lakh by the state government. Bahuguna stated that Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium and mega sports complex would be constructed as per international norms. The stadium and sports complex would be built in 23 acres. The Oil and Natural gas Coporation (ONGC) has already given Rs 50 crore for the purpose to the state government. The Chief Minister hoped that the ONGC would further help the state government in its endeavour to encourage sports and sportpersons. Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla, who is also Commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), was also present on the occasion. He said the international-level cricket stadium would give a boost to sports as well as tourism in the state. He assured the state all help from the Union Government for the construction of the stadium and mega sports complex. He also announced that international cricket test matches and IPL matches would be played once the stadium was complete. Uttarakhand Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal, Revenue Minister and state Congress chief Yashpal Arya, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay, ONGC chief managing director (CMD) Sudhir Vasudeva, Rajkumar, Umesh Sharma, Subodh Uniyal, Kanwar Parnav Champion, all legislators, were also present on the occasion.

Dehradun, November 14The state's demand for an international-class cricket stadium has finally been fulfilled with Oil Giant Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) Limited giving its nod to take up the project. The foundation stone of the complex will be laid at Raipur in Dehradun tomorrow.
The ONGC will be making an investment of Rs 100 crore for the cricket complex that will include a stadium and cricket academy. While cricket is regularly played in almost all boarding schools of Dehradun, Haridwar, Halwani and Nainital, the talent fails to get right encouragement in the state due to the absence of adequate infrastructure. There is no international-level cricket stadium in the entire state.
Sports Minister Dinesh Agarwal said the cricket complex would come up on a 23 acres in Raipur and would be one of its kind in the country.
He said Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and President, Indian Premier League Rajeev Shukla, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, ONGC Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva, Cabinet minister Yashpal Arya and Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma would be present at the stone laying ceremony that would be held on the Maharana Pratap Sports College campus, Raipur, here tomorrow.
Dinesh Agarwal said besides the ONGC, the Uttarakhand Government would also invest Rs 100 crore in the ambitious project.
Meanwhile, sources in the ONGC said it was constructing the stadium under its corporate social responsibility initiative.
Welcoming this move, Ajay Pandey, a Dehradun-based senior cricketer, said a cricket stadium in Dehradun was like a dream come true for the budding cricket talent of Dehradun. He said at least, youngsters would now get an opportunity to showcase their talent. He said it would also attract international matches to Dehradun.

Dehra Dun : Uttarakhand is a small mountain state of contrasts. Where on one side poachers are having field day, killing animals at will, including the national animal tiger, on the other man-animal conflict has peaked and leopards, bears and even elephants are striking at will sending shivers down the spine of the rural population.
Sunday was a classic example of the man-animal conflict, when a leopard attacked a woman, but thankfully she was able to get away with minor injuries, but another woman was badly mauled by a bear and died on her way to hospital and an elephant played havoc in a village mealing upon the standing crop, till it was scared away by bursting fire crackers by the forest department staff.
According to report, 52-year-old Darshani Devi, of Panchur village in Pauri district of the state went to answer the call of nature behind her house. A leopard which was waiting in the bushes, perhaps to pick up a calf or dog attacked her. She raises an alarm on which villagers came running, but luckily a scythe lying nearby came into her hand and she attacked the animal, which fled. Injured, she is lucky to be alive to tell the tale, though admitted in the hospital.
In the other incident, 35-year-old Kansri Devi, resident of Banari Banchauri village also in Pauri district, was working alone in the filed when a huge sloth bear attacked and mauled her badly. Desperately she put a bold fight with the animal, but could not match the strength and big claws of the bear. The unconscious Kansri Devi was later picked up by villagers and taken to the local hospital who referred her to a specialist hospital here. She, however, succumbed to her injuries on way.
For Nakraunda villagers, it was a trying Sunday, as they were pitched against a wild elephant who came to their fields and started mealing on their standing crops. The villagers tried to scare the animal, which would go back, only to return anmd start eating the crops again. This continued for quite some time and a situation came when the elephant refused to go back to the forest and continued eating in the fields.
Exasperated, the villagers rushed to seek help of the forest department staff, who also tried that the elephant return to the forests, but the pachyderm refused to go back. Left with no alternative, they got some fire crackers (thankfully Dewali is round the corner) and burst them near the animal which scared it back.
Meanwhile senior forest officers, on anonymity, admitted that the man-animal conflict in Uttarakhand had reached serious proportions, as it was not confined to one part of the state alsone, but was affecting the entire state, specially in the rural areas. “It is quite apparent that the state government is waking up the situation, after the damage has been done and it will be years before green infrastructure can be created, which will partially resolve the problem”, they felt

Dehradun, November 14The Gangotri shrine was closed for the winter today. A large number of pilgrims queued up to have the last darshan of 'Akhand Jyoti' before the closure of the shrine. The ceremonial closure took place at 12 noon amid the recitation of Vedic mantras. The idol of Goddess Ganga was taken to nearby village Mukhba, where it will be worshipped during the winter.
Situated at a height of 10,000 ft above the sea level in Uttarkashi, the Gangotri shrine is closed for pilgrims every year during October-November and reopens in April-May, as the area remains snowbound during the winter.
The portals of the Yamunotri shrine in Uttarkashi and the Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag district will be closed for the winter on November 16. The closure of the Badrinath shrine, the last to be closed among the Char Dham shrines, will take place on November 18.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Dehradun, November 11Folk dances from Garhwal enthralled the audience on the last day of Virasat-2012, a cultural festival, last night. The dance group first performed ‘Mandanh’, followed by ‘Chachari’, a dance in which artistes form a human chain as they dance.
The second performance of the evening was that of Ziya Azazi and his representation of the whirling dervishes called, “Dervish in progress”. He was born in 1969 in Antakya, Turkey. Since 1994, he has been based in Vienna, Austria. He speaks Arabic, English, German and Turkish.
Ziya Azazi and his troupe held the audience spellbound with an entirely different Austrian-Sufi flavour.
The next performance was by Murray Molly from Ireland. His repertoire includes escapology, clown, comedy, magic, fire manipulation, fakirism, pyrotechnics and contortionism. The show began with interaction with the audience. By building the crowd with the techniques of theatre and clown, he formed a bond with the spectators. After winning the crowd’s confidence, the show began with Murray’s stunts. From Australian stockwhips to hilarious contortionist’s stunts of squeezing his entire body through a toilet seat, Murray enthralled Doonites. A comedy piece with members of the audience was followed by the grand finale, his most impressive, original and spectacular sword swallowing stunt.
The last performance of the evening was Sufiana Quwwali by Mohd Ahmed Warsi. Warsi Brothers are excellent representatives of the Quwwali form of musical expression. They belong to the Rampur Sahaswan Gharana of Quwwals. They are a very popular Qawwali musical group, consisting of brothers Mohammad Ahmed Khan Warsi and Khalid Hussain Khan Warsi.
They were accompanied by their next generation - son Waris Nawab Warsi Sahib. Their singing is best known for the purity of raaga’s, measured tones and taals which are special to original Delhi Gharana Gayaki.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Eleven Star beat Chanderbani XI by 2-1 in the first quarterfinal match of the Martyr Jaideep Bhandari Memorial Football Tournament being played at Nehru Gram here today.

Siddarath of Chanderbani XI scored the first goal in the 26th minute but Arya of Eleven Star scored the equaliser in the 28th minute and later scored the winning goal to give a 2-1 lead to his team in the 40th minute.

Bajrang XI will take on Sunderwala Boys and Akranata Club will take on Gorkha Rangers in the quarter final matches to be played tomorrow.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has embarked on a green mission to double the forest cover to 15% from 7%

Dehradun Oct 14, 2012 - Punjab may be famous for its rich agriculture production in India. But very little is known about its miniscule forest cover of 7% as against 65% green cover of states like Uttarakhand.

In what is being billed as the first major afforestation initiative, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has embarked on a green mission to double the forest cover to 15% from 7%. Badal, who became the chief minister for the record fifth time last year, today formally inaugurated the Rs 1,900 crore “green Punjab mission” in the hallowed precincts of the prestigious Forest Research Institute (FRI) here. Under the project, the state government signed an MoU with the FRI here to achieve the goal 5-8 years time with the involvement of farmers and the state forest department.

For this purpose, the state government has also set up a green fund and has already raised Rs 22 crore, Badal said. From seed to trees, the MoU envisages the FRI to tackle all the forest-related problems and provide its technical expertise to farmers in the maintenance of the green cover. “FRI will take only plant a sapling but take care of for 3 to 5 years till it properly grows,” said Badal after the signing of the MoU.

Plantations of industrial timber and ornamental tree species will be carried out in this programme, Badal said. To ensure the proper price for the timber grown by farmers, timber market will be strengthened and upgraded throughout the state.

To cater the research needs of the state, a research institute will be established in Punjab with the help of FRI. “Through this green mission, the Punjab government has set an example which will be followed by other states in future,” said V K Bahuguna, Director General Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education which controls the FRI.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Dehradun, October 11
The Dehradun police today resorted to a lathi charge on VHP
and Bajrang Dal workers after they forcibly tried to take possession of a
house in Race Course locality of Dehradun.
According to police sources, Ravi Mittal and Mahendree Devi had a
house at G 11 Race Course. Both Ravi Mittal and Mahendree Devi passed
away some time back. Today, Subash Mittal, brother of deceased Ravi
Mittal, who is a Deputy Director with the CBI, Delhi, reached Race
Course in order to take the possession of the house. He was aghast to
find a Bajrang Dal board at the house. The Bajrang Dal workers even
manhandled Subhash Mittal and damaged his car, HR 26 BF 7200. Subhash
Mittal reported the matter to the police.SP, Dehradun City,
Dilip Singh Kunwar, accompanied by a police force reached Race Course
and tried to calm down things. But BJP MLAs Ganesh Joshi
and Sahdev Pundir tried to argue from Bajrang Dal's side, whereas
Congress MLA Rajkumar accompanied by other Congress workers came to
Subhash Mittal's rescue. The verbal duel between BJP and Congress workers turned into a full-scale scuffle, forcing
the police to go for a lathi charge, resulting in minor injuries to a few persons.Deputy
Director, CBI, Delhi, Subash Mittal, said the Race Course house belongs
to him and it was his paternal property. He also claimed possessing the
papers of the property. On other side, VHP workers claimed that the
deceased Ravi Mittal had donated the property to VHP.Meanwhile, the district administration has
sealed the property till further action.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Dehradun, October 1The Indian Military Academy (IMA) celebrated its 80th raising day amid pomp and show at the Khetarpal auditorium here today. The IMA came into existence on October 1, 1932, with 40 Gentlemen Cadets.

The academy was formally inaugurated by Field Marshal Lord Philip Chetwode, the then Commander-in-Chief of India, on December 10, 1932, with Brig LP Collins, as the first Commandant.

Lt Gen Manvender Singh, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Commandant, IMA, congratulated all members and their families. He said the IMA was not only a respected military institution but also abroad.

The Commandant gave away the appreciation certificate along with cash incentives to 39 civilian employees of the IMA for their sincerity and commitment towards the service in the academy.

In the past 80 years, the academy has grown from strength to strength and from 40 Gentlemen Cadets in 1932, the academy now trains around 1,900 Gentleman Cadets at any time. The academy has commissioned 52,219 Gentlemen Cadets as officers, including 1,397 Foreign Gentlemen Cadets from 30 friendly foreign countries. Besides training officers from foreign countries, the IMA has cadets exchange programmes with the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand and Singapore.

The academy has a rich history and its alumni have excelled in all spheres of military activities. They have etched stories of their heroic valour in various battlefields throughout the world.

On the occasion, the members of the IMA also remembered and paid homage to the martyrs.

The ceremony was attended by several retired and serving officers from the state. Few of the ex-Commandants, including Lt Gen GS Rawat, Lt Gen Mathew Thomas and Lt Gen YS Tomar (retd), were also present on the occasion.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Gustavo Tavares from Brazil (left) and Anders Oien from Norway perform at a Spicmacay programme in Dehradun on Wednesday.

Dehradun, September 19

In keeping with their desire to bring the artistes of western classical music closer to the young audience, Spicmacay (Uttarakhand) this time round has brought to Dehradun the Norwegian duo of Gustavo Tavares, a cellist player, and Anders Oien, a guitarist.

Both acclaimed artistes played samples of western classical music inspired by two Norwegian composers Edvard Grieg (19 century) and Kenneth Sivertsen ( 20 century).

Speaking with The Tribune at the end of their performance today, Gustavo, who is based in Oslo, said tours like these excited him as they exposed him to different cultures. “For half the year I play for Norwegian National Opera, and for the remaining period, I am free to experiment and do my own thing, which is basically music and more music,” he said.

Despite performing for an audience with limited exposure to western classical music, Gustav struck a chord with them without compromising on the vocabulary or grammar of his music. “ I do not compromise on quality of music or my own experience of music making. The standard has to be maintained at all costs,” he said.

He was accompanied by guitarist Anders Oien, who learnt music at the Norwegian Academy of Music and is a classicist in his own right.

Both agree that music had no boundaries and musical tradition of the world was based on a set of expressions that were fine-tuned. Both the artistes gave a scintillating performance at Unison World School today.

They also performed at Doon School and Summer Valley Schools.

Simultaneously, Spicmacay also organised a Bharatnatyam dance workshop by Anuradha Venkataraman, who taught the students of Govt Girls Inter College (Rajpur Road) the basics of Bharatnatyam dance.

The dancer who learnt the art under guru Saroja Vaidyanathan for 15 years and has now taken up the job herself, said that the the guru-shishya parampara had kept alive the dance and musical legacy of the country. “This Indian tradition of holding the guru in high esteem is even prevalent abroad, and this was vividly brought out even by the Norwegian artistes,” she said.

Anuradha Venkatraman also performed with the Norwegian artistes much to the delight of the audience.

For the post of general secretary, Nitin Chauhan from the lesser known Pattu Group defeated Satish Mohan Pant of the Aryan Group with a margin of 312 votes. Nitin Chauhan polled 1,898 votes whereas Satish Mohan Pant got 1,586 votes.

As for the post of vice-president, Brijmohan Singh Negi defeated the Student Federation of India's Devendra Singh Rawat by a margin of 118 votes. Saurabh Mamgain won the University Representative post defeating Deepak Bisht by a slender margin of 20 votes.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Dehradun -Very soon the second phase of National Population Register (NPR) project would begin in Uttarakhand under which every citizen would be issued Smart Card.

This card would be the proof of that person’s citizenship and domicile. The Uttarakhand Government has released Government Order in this regard. Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain reviewed the progress of NPR project at Secretariat on Tuesday.

Jain asked the officers to link the Smart Card with Public Distribution System and other Government projects. A database being prepared under NPR could be utilised in other government projects also. the database would be first of its kind which would cover all the citizens of the State and it being bio-metrics its authenticity would also be more.

The database would include not only the photograph of the person but also impression of fingerprints and pupil. A directives had been given to complete NPR projects in one year time. In the meeting, it was revealed that 19, 98, 000 houses were covered in the first phase of NPR. In the second phase, the Enumerators would visit every house.

In all 150 houses had been placed in one block and a camp would be organized to take bio-metrics data. In Uttarakhand the phase would begin from Dehradun Nagar Nigam area for which Central Public Sector Undertaking is selecting the firms to carry out the work. Register General of India would visit Uttarakhand to take stock of the NPR process between 11 and 14 September, 2012.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Mumbai, August 22A two-day strike by employees of nationalised banks, 12 old generation private banks and eight foreign banks crippled banking services across the country.
The strike call by the United Forum of Banking Unions (UFBU), the umbrella organisation of several trade unions and officers’ associations of banks, received overwhelming response with more than a million employees staying away from work, the UFBU said in a statement here.
The All-India Bank Employees Association, the biggest of the unions, said the strike aimed at preventing passage of the banking reforms Bill that aimed at amending the banking laws to allow managements to fix salaries as per their banks’ financial performance. The proposals also involved greater leeway for managements to promote and recruit employees directly from the market in addition to raising qualifications for employees, AIBEA general secretary Vishwas Utagi said.
Under the garb of banking reforms, managements were being allowed to outsource important functions to third-party operators, unions alleged. This, they said, would jeopardise the rural initiatives of major nationalised banks.
According to the unions, routine banking services for customers, foreign exchange transactions, cheque clearance and capital market activities were affected. Analysts said the volume of transactions in the forex markets was low as only the major private banks were operating today.
Customers were depending more on the ATMs as the bank managements had made advance arrangement for loading the machines with cash. “Several banks, including the SBI, have outsourced cash-loading business with private firms. Most of the ATMs have enough capacity,” a senior SBI official said. However, the fund movement of individuals and corporates would get affected because of delays in cheque clearances.
The volumes in the government bond and share markets were also impacted.

PROTESTING REFORMS

Over 10 lakh employees and officers all over the country joined the strike

The call for the two-day strike was given by the United Forum of Banking Unions

The strike aimed at preventing passage of the banking reforms Bill

The Bill would allow managements to fix salaries as per banks’ financial performance

Friday, August 17, 2012

Dehradun, August 17Balkrishan, close aide of yoga guru Ramdev, was released from the Sadhowala jail in Dehradun this evening after he was granted bail by the Nainital High Court yesterday. A single Bench of Justice Tarun Aggarwal granted bail to him. He also ordered Balkrishan to furnish two personal sureties of Rs 10 lakh and directed him to appear in person in lower court for further hearing.

Balkrishan was arrested by the CBI for forgery and the violation of the Indian Passport Act. He appealed to the high court for bail after his bail plea was turned down twice by lower courts. A Special CBI court rejected his bail plea on July 20, the day he was arrested from Haridwar and by the Dehradun District Courts on July 31.

After coming out of the jail, Balkrishan said the UPA government would not be able to quell discontent growing against black money stashed in banks in foreign countries. He added he along with Ramdev would continue to wage a fight against corruption and black money.

Balkrishan said the UPA government had implicated him in a false case to divert attention from its scams and it would not be able to prove anything against him.

Ramdev said his fast against black money held in New Delhi was a runaway success. He added trust shown by the public in him had encouraged him to intensify his agitation. The convoy of Ramdev and Balkrishan passed through many parts of the city, including Clock Tower and Rajpur Road, where their supporters raised slogans in their favour. They also showered flowers on the duo.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Wisconsin - At least six persons have been killed and several injured, some
critically by one or more gunmen at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, a
gurudwara, in what appeared to be a hate crime in Oak Creek, a quiet
suburb of Milwaukee. (reports said that an "active shooter” killed at scene and 6 others have been killed at the gurudwara).

After news of the shooting broke around mid-day local time, media
reports quoted Lee Biblo, Chief Medical Officer at nearby Froedtert
Hospital, saying that three male adults had been brought into the
operating room in critical condition, with gunshot wounds to abdomen and
the face.

Meanwhile aerial television footage showed at least one body lying near a parking lot outside the gurudwara. A CNN
report quoted Gurcharan Grewal, president of the Sikh Religious Society
of Wisconsin, saying that multiple sources had confirmed that “there
were wounded people still inside the temple and that there may have been
multiple perpetrators.”

Reports also quoted an unnamed member of the Sikh community saying that a
Sikh priest visiting from New Delhi, India, was said to have been shot
at, at the scene of the crime. Even as breaking news indicated that at
least one gunman may still be inside the gurudwara, law enforcement
officers were said to have “returned fire and [a] shooter was put down.”

One police officer was injured in an exchange of fire. Chief Bradley
Wentlandt of the Greenfield, Wisconsin Police said that “multiple rounds were
exchanged and the officer was shot multiple times,” and the shooter was
“presumed deceased.” Mr. Wentlandt however noted that based on
information on police scanners there was still no clear evidence that
there were multiple perpetrators.

While Mr. Biblo said no women or children had been brought into the
hospital yet, Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh council on Religion
and Education in Washington said that women and children may have been
among those in the gurudwara at the time of the shooting, generally on
site at this time of day to prepare the community meal.

However, other local hospitals reportedly received victims from the
shooting incident too and a full list of potential victims was not yet
available. Amardeep Kaleka who said his father was in the gurudwara at
the time of the attack, said to media outlets that his father had sought
refuge apparently hid in a closet and said to his son on the phone,
“They’re out there.”

Mr. Kaleka added that the police informed him around "26 to 28 people
had been shot", including the head priest who was "bleeding profusely."

Meanwhile the Indian embassy in Washington said that it was "seized of
the situation and has been in touch with the National Security Council
in Washington, D.C." While the Indian Consulate General in Chicago too
has been in "close touch with the local authorities to monitor the
situation," the embassy also noted that an official has been deputed to
visit the site "to ascertain the situation on-the-spot."

Police describe chaotic scene

Authorities were on the scene on Sunday of shootings at the Sikh Temple
near Milwaukee, where police and witnesses described a chaotic situation
with an unknown number of victims, suspects and possible hostages.

Police were called to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the suburb of Oak
Creek on Sunday morning, when witnesses said several dozen people were
gathering for a service. They responded with a dozen ambulances,
although Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt said it wasn’t clear
how many people had been shot.

Mr. Wentlandt also said it wasn’t clear how many suspects were involved,
although one opened fire on an officer and the officer “put down” that
man. Wentlandt said the officer was shot multiple times.

Three shooting victims, all men, were taken to Froederdt Hospital in
Milwaukee, the main trauma center for the area, spokeswoman Carolyn
Bellin said. One was in the operating room, another in a surgical
intensive care unit and the third was being evaluated in the emergency
room, she said.

Sukhwindar Nagr, of Racine, said he called his brother-in-law’s phone
and a priest at the temple answered and told him that his brother-in-law
had been shot, along with three priests. The priest also said women and
children were hiding in closets in the temple, Mr. Nagr said.

Dehradun - ITBP and police personnel on Sunday searched debris of flattened homes
and dug rubbles to look for more bodies in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand
where the toll due to the incessant downpour reached 34.
Six people were still missing in the Uttarkashi district, said a top
government official."In Uttarakashi alone, 31 people have been killed and six are still
missing following heavy rains," district magistrate R Rajesh Kumar said.Twenty three workers of the state-run UJVN Ltd's Assi Ganga hydel
project, who went missing early Saturday following a cloud burst in the
upper hills of Uttarkashi district, have now been declared dead."We are now counting these 23 workers in the list of dead people," said Kumar.During the past two days, incessant rains battered the hill state
triggering landslides, cloud bursts and flash floods which flattened
homes and stranded hundreds of pilgrims with the chardham yatra coming
to a grinding halt.The Garhwal region bore the brunt of the natural disaster in the wake
of heavy rains with the government sounding a high alert in the state.The Army has also been alerted in the wake of the heavy rains in the hill state.Elsewhere in the state, three people were killed in Chamoli district following heavy rains since Saturday.The government has launched relief and rescue operations and has sent food packets to the affected people.Nearly, 250 families have already been taken to safer areas in the different areas of Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts.

Friday, August 3, 2012

LONDON: Army sharp shooterVijay Kumar today fought a nerve-wracking battle with five other top marksmen to clinch the silver medal in the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event at the Olympic Games here today.

Kumar beat back the challenge of world champion Alexei Klimov of Russia, Chinese duo of Ding Feng and Zhang Jian and German Christian Reitz in the 40-shot final to finish runner-up in a thrilling finale behind Cuba's Leuris Pupo who shot his way to the gold with a world record equalling score of 34.

The 26-year-old army subedar from Himachal Pradesh found the target 30 times out of 40 attempts in the series comprising eight rounds of five shots each.

This is India's second medal in the ongoing quadrennial extravaganza after fellow marksman Gagan Narang's bronze in the 10m Air Rifle event on July 30. This was also the country's fourth medal in shooting in Olympic history.

Kumar started with a bang, hitting the target all five times and kept himself in the hunt for a medal by consistently finding the target.

After a perfect five out of five at the start, Kumar, a double gold medallist in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, found the target four times in the second and third series, but missed it twice in the fourth.

He came back strongly by finding the target four times in the next three rounds and assured himself of a silver. In the last round after Pupo shot four to clinch the gold, Kumar seemed to relax a bit and missed three targets.

The bronze medal was won by Feng with a tally of 27.

In the final, Kumar was assured of a medal after the the elimination of the trio of Klimov (23), Jian (17) and Christian (13) leaving himself, Pupo and Feng in the fray.

The silver was in his bag when Feng missed twice in the seventh round and Kumar replied with four.

Kumar had earlier lifted the Indian shooting team's spirit after the flop show by Narang, who failed to qualify for the final of the 50m Rifle Prone, by entering the finals of his event through the preliminaries.

En route to his total score of 585, Kumar became the second shooter to break the previous Olympic record of 583 to give a hint of his potential during the second stage of qualification.

Placed fourth in the list, Kumar, who had scored 293 in stage 1 of the qualification yesterday, shot a series of 98 97 97 in the second stage to take his total score to 585.

He shot a sequence of 99 96 98 at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

The Army man then successfully competed with five shooters for a medal.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Baba Bakala, August 2
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal today charged the Congress-led UPA Government with “blatant discrimination” against Punjab and other non-Congress states by denying them drought relief.
Addressing a rally here to mark Rakhar Punia, Sukhbir said: “The Centre does not appear to be moved by the plight of Punjab farmers and has not awarded a single rupee to the state as drought relief.This is despite Punjab contributing 65 per cent foodgrain to the central pool.” He said though the government had already purchased power worth Rs 7,000 crore, which is 10 per cent more than last year’s peak demand, the failure of monsoon had raised power consumption in the state.
He refuted allegations of power overdrawal by Punjab, saying the Northern Grid had tripped because of 51 per cent overdrawal by Haryana and 29 per cent overdrawal by UP.
“I salute our enterprising farmers who have put everything at stake to ensure that their crops do not wither away,” Sukhbir said.
He said work on three power plants was underway and these would start functioning by the end of 2013. “With new power plants coming up at Goindwal Sahib, Talwandi Sabo and Rajpura, we will get 3,920 MW of extra power which would reduce our dependence on the Centre and make us self-dependant,” he claimed.

The Deputy CM said all major cities would be connected with four-lane roads and Rs 13,000 crore would be spent on the road network in the next three years. He said he had directed the SSPs to intensify the police drive against petty crime such as snatching. He said non-performing police officers would face the music.

Shifts base from Ropar to Nawanshahr district for its nefarious activities

Nawanshahr, August 2The powerful sand mining mafia seems to have shifted its base from Ropar to Nawanshahr for extracting sand and gravel from the Sutlej riverbed.
A lax administration has ensured that the mafia gets away with everything - altering the course of the Sutlej, breaking the dhussi bundh (that protects villages along the Sutlej in case of floods) making way for trucks to ferry sand and gravel and mining the material right under the big bridges in violation of law.Mining is banned 1 km upstream and 500 metres downstream from big bridges.
Even worse, the mining contractors are using big excavators to dig the riverbed in addition to earth mowers. Residents of nearby villages allege that their protests and appeals to the district administration have fallen on deaf ears.
With hundreds of trucks ferrying sand and gravel quarried illegally, dhussi bundhs near Saidpur Kalan and Phul Makauri villages have sunk.
Though the district administration has imposed Section 144 of CrPC, banning the plying of heavy vehicles on dhussi bundhs, trucks ferrying sand and gravel continue to use these.
Santokh Ram, sarpanch of Saidpur Kalan village, said that miners had begun digging 10 ft to 12 ft deep trenches along the banks of the Sutlej in April this year.
“As a result, the Sutlej, with its course altered, has started flowing near populated areas,” he said.
The fertile land along the river, which was once cultivated, now has over 10 ft deep pits. Other than the legally auctioned quarries of Malakpur, Behlur Khurd, Madhala, Mehndipur, Sedpur Khurd, Knaun, Lalewal, Begowal, Burj Tehildas, Jhungian, Khoja, Bersal and Baramad Rel, illegal mining is going on at Phul Makauri, Saidpur Kalan and the riverbed near Niyamatpur and Shekhan Majara.
More importantly, the miners are targeting larger areas around the legally auctioned quarries than areas auctioned by the Industries Department. In Saidpur Khurd, the government has allowed mining on 11.60 acres. But miners are extracting minor minerals from 100 acres of land. This includes land owned by the Forest Department. Mining in forest land is banned.
Similarly, in Behlur Khurd, quarrying is allowed only on 9.84 acres of land, but the miners are extracting material from over 25 acres of land.
It is learnt that mining is allowed in 13 quarries, covering 115.97 acres.

As per the terms of the auction, the miners can lift 5,22,765 tonnes of riverbed material from these quarries avery year. But with an estimated 3,500 trucks (each truck ferrying 29 tonnes) carrying material daily, over one lakh tonnes of sand and gravel is being lifted from here everyday. This means almost 365 lakh tonnes of material is being lifted every year and over 360 lakh tonnes illegally.

Illegal mining at Phul Makauri, Saidpur Kalan and the riverbed near Niyamatpur and Shekhan Majara on

Miners target larger areas around legally auctioned quarries

In Saidpur Khurd, miners illegally extracting minor minerals from 100 acres of land

This includes land owned by the Forest Department. Mining on forest land is banned

Modus Operandi

The illegal slips, called the ‘jhhota parchi’, are used rampantly here to allow the movement of the trucks ferrying illegally mined sand and gravel. The legal slips are called ‘weighment slips’ and should mention the quarry from where the material has been mined. The illegal slips are called “stand slips”, and are given to truck drivers and checked by goons who then collect ‘royalty’ from the truck owners.

Demand Up

With mining in Haryana banned, Punjab is now the sole supplier of sand and gravel in the region. With major infrastructure and real estate projects coming up in the region, there is a high demand for construction material. The supply, however, is at an all-time low. The price of sand has zoomed to Rs 2,300 per 100 cubic ft.

The first woman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Dehradun, Neeru Garg, an IPS officer of 2005 batch, is composed and sincere. Within a week of taking the charge as Dehradun SSP, she had made it clear to her collegues that she wanted strict compliance with duty.

She has directed the police officials to take the public into confidence and encourage them to assist the police in controlling crime.

Providing a much-needed relief to the police personnel, who were subjugated under extreme pressure to be in field from morning till mid night to rein in the crime, she judiciously divided their responsibilities and working hours.

She is specifically concerned about the escalating crime rate against women. “I am intending to prepare a work plan soon in order to minimise the crimes committed against women such as stalking, eve-teasing, rape, domestic violence, dowry etc,” she says.

Garg, who hails from Delhi, studied B Tech in Electronics. She says, “Though I was an engineering student, I was more interested in human beings than machines. I wanted to serve society through civil services. My first preference was to become an IAS officer but destiny had some other plans for me and I got commissioned as an IPS officer in 2005. I have had a satisfactory and fruitful career.”

She fondly remembers her first posting as Rudrapur SP, which was demanding but she sailed through successfully.

It is indeed a challenge for a woman police official to lead a team of police personnel. Under such circumstances, the women officials are considered to be resorting to either aggression or soft approach to assert their authorities.

Garg opines, “The women officials should not be looked at a from different prism.”

She firmly believes that women need not to be conscious of their gender or be vulnerable but must work sincerely to prove their mettle.